Punjab is a state in northwest India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir to the northeast, Chandigarh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the west. The state capital is Chandigarh, which is administered separately as a Union Territory because it is also the capital of Haryana. Other 10 major cities of Punjab includes Mohali, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Bathinda, Patiala, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Pathankot, Mukerian and Batala.
PLACES TO VISIT
Harmandir Sahib
Its name literally means Temple of God. The fourth guru of Sikhism, Guru Ram Das, excavated a tank in 1577 AD which subsequently became known as Amritsar (meaning "Pool of the Nectar of Immortality"),giving its name to the city that grew around it. In due course, a splendid Sikh edifice, Harmandir Sahib (meaning "the abode of God"), rose in the middle of this tank and became the supreme centre of Sikhism. Its sanctum came to house the Adi Granth comprising compositions of Sikh gurus and other saints considered to have Sikh values and philosophies, e.g., Baba Farid, and Kabir. The compilation of the Adi Granth was started by the fifth guru of Sikhism, Guru Arjan Dev.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Amritsar massacre, known alternately as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre for after the Jallianwala Bagh (Garden) in the northern Indian city of Amritsar where, on April 13, 1919 (which happened to be 'Baisakhi' one of Punjab's largest religious festivals) fifty British Indian Army soldiers, commanded by Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, began shooting at an unarmed gathering of men, women and children without warning. The shooting lasted for ten to fifteen minutes, until ammunition ran out. Dyer ordered soldiers to reload their rifles several times and they were ordered to shoot to kill. Official British Raj sources estimated the fatalities at 379, and with 1,100 wounded. Civil Surgeon Dr Smith indicated that there were 1,526 casualties. However, the casualty number quoted by the Indian National Congress was more than 1,500, with roughly 1,000 killed.
Wagah
The Wagah border, often called the "Berlin wall of Asia", is a ceremonial border on the India–Pakistan Border where each evening there is a retreat ceremony called 'lowering of the flags',which has been held since 1959.At that time there is an energetic parade by the Border Security Force (B.S.F) of India and the Pakistan Rangers soldiers. It may appear slightly aggressive and even hostile to foreigners but in fact the paraders are imitating the pride and anger of a Cockerel. Troops of each country put on a show in their uniforms with their colorful turbans. Border officials from the two countries sometimes walk over to the offices on the other side for day to day affairs. The happenings at this border post have been a barometer of the India-Pakistan relations over the years.Samjhauta Express, the train service between Lahore and Delhi, plies twice a week from Attari railway station, 5 km from Wagah. The National Highway of India starts from Wagah Border, and is the transit point for the Delhi–Lahore Bus service operating within the Punjab between Amritsar and Lahore, which was started in 2004 as relations between the two countries improved.
Ludhiana
Ludhiana (also Ludhyana) is a city and a municipal corporation in Ludhiana district in the Indian state of Punjab. It is the largest city in Punjab, with an estimated population of 1,398,467 in 2010. The population increases substantially during the crop harvesting season due to immigration of laborers from states like Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and Delhi. It has an area of about 310 km². The city stands on the Sutlej River's old bank, 13 km south of its present course. It is a major industrial center of northern India.Ludhiana is located 100 km west from state capital Chandigarh on NH 95 and is centrally located on National Highway 1 from Indian capital New Delhi to Amritsar, and is well connected to New Delhi by road, frequent train service and by air.
After the partition of India in 1947, the Punjab province of British India was divided between India and Pakistan. The Indian Punjab was divided in 1966 with the formation of the new states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh as well as the current state of Punjab.
Agriculture is the largest industry in Punjab, it is the largest single provider of wheat to India. Other major industries include the manufacturing of scientific instruments, water meter, electrical goods, financial services, machine tools, textiles, sewing machines, sports goods, starch, tourism, fertilizers, bicycles, garments, and the processing of pine oil and sugar. Punjab also has the largest number of Steel Rolling Mill Plants in India which are located in Steel Town Mandi Gobindgarh, District Fatehgarh Sahib.
Most of the Punjab is a fertile, alluvial plain with many rivers and an extensive irrigation canal system. The southwest of the state is semi-arid, eventually merging into the Thar Desert. The Siwalik Hills extends along the northeastern part of the state at the foot of the Himalayas.
The soil characteristics are influenced to a limited extent by the topography, vegetation and parent rock. The variation in soil profile characteristics are much more pronounced because of the regional climatic differences. Punjab is divided into three distinct regions on the basis of soil types; southwestern, central, and eastern.
Punjab falls under seismic zones II, III, and IV. Zones II and III are referred to as Low Damage Risk Zone while zone IV referred to as high damage risk zone.
The temperature range in Punjab is from –2 to 40 °C (min/max), but can reach 47 °C (117 °F) in summer and –4 °C in winter. Climatically, Punjab has three major seasons as under: